Sir Malcolm Rifkind has faced up to the inevitable and stood down as chair of parliament’s intelligence and security committee. To seasoned Westminster watchers, the circumstances appear wearily familiar: a hidden camera, a bogus foreign company, an MP (and former foreign secretary) boasting of services he can provide for money. Before this particular sting, which also ensnared former Labour cabinet minister Jack Straw, there have been many others, catching parliamentarians of every stripe appearing to trade influence for cash.
馬爾康•芮夫金爵士(Sir Malcolm Rifkind)已經正視了不可避免的後果，卸下了英國議會情報與安全委員會(ISC)主席職位。在經驗豐富的英國政壇觀察家看來，這種場景似乎熟悉得令人感到厭倦：一臺隱藏的攝影機，一家虛構的外國企業，一名吹噓對方交錢後自己能提供服務的國會議員（也是前外交大臣）。這次「釣魚」行動還「釣」出了前工黨內閣大臣傑克•斯特勞(Jack Straw)，而先前的多次類似行動則「釣」出了似乎在用影響力交換金錢的形形色色的國會議員。